Annabeth's Pov on the Lightning Thief
by Cataniagirl
Summary: So, basically just Annabeth's Pov on the Lightning Thief. I promise I will finish this and I hope to do the other books in the series as well. This is my first fanfic. Please read & review. Hope you guys like it! Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All rights go to Rick Riordan!
1. Chapter 1

I lay shivering in my bed. It was thundering outside, and the Athena cabin felt like it was going to collapse. _It couldn't, _I thought. _The architecture is perfectly stable._

I knew it was against the rules, but I crept out of bed and walked in the rain towards the Big House. It was strange that it was raining, since we never got bad weather inside the borders of camp unless we wanted…or, if the gods were especially angry.

We had gotten some rain and snow since the winter solstice. As far as I could tell, something had been stolen. But it was raining harder now, and outside the borders, I could see heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. This was big. I wish Chiron would tell me what was going on. He had been out on a "house call" since the beginning of the school year. Apparently Grover had found a powerful demigod and had alerted Chiron. Chiron came back recently, and said the demigod would be coming soon. He didn't emphasize.

Through the heavy storm, I saw something. A monster? I wasn't sure. It sure looked like one. It was wearing bright white underwear, and was heading straight toward camp!

I squinted to get a better look at it. Yup, it was a monster, all right. The Minotaur. It didn't matter that I was breaking the rules anymore; I had to tell Chiron! I ran into the Big House, and found Chiron still awake.

"Annabeth!" he said in surprise. "What are you -?"

" A monster!" I gasped. "Coming towards camp!"

He galloped (did I mention Chiron is a centaur?) out of the Big House and I followed. There was a boy fighting the monster, obviously a demigod. It looked like he was- piggyback riding it? Grover the satyr, probably his protector, was lying in the grass next to him, moaning, "Food!"

Before long, he had ripped the Minotaur's horn off. The monster screamed in pain and threw him off. The boy got up as the monster charged, and started fighting. I stared in awe. He had amazing reflexes! Soon, he had killed the Minotaur with its own horn.

Then, I realized the rain had stopped. The boy picked up Grover, and started crying as he stumbled toward the Big House. When he got there he collapsed on the porch where Chiron and I were standing. He had dark hair and sea-green eyes. They drifted to Chiron, then to me, and I knew. He was the child of the prophecy. Which also meant…he was going to get me my quest, the quest I had been begging Chiron for since I was seven years old. He radiated an aura of power I had only seen on a demigod a couple of times before. He was a child of the Big Three. That was why Chiron had been away the whole year.

"He's the one. He must be," I breathed. Then I blushed, realizing he could hear me.

"Silence, Annabeth," Said Chiron. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."


	2. Chapter 2

So Chiron picked him up and carried him inside to the infirmary. I followed quietly. He lay him down on one of the beds.

"Ah, yes. Annabeth, this is Percy Jackson."

"The demigod who you've been teaching all year?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, yes. Would you care for him until he…ah…wakes up?"

"Yes, sir," I replied.

Suddenly we heard Grover moaning, still on the porch. "Food!"

"We should probably…deal with that," I mumbled.

"I'll get him. You stay here," Chiron said. He trotted out of the infirmary.

Percy started mumbling things about barnyard animals and food. Then, something…about a math teacher? "Mrs. Dodds…bad…teacher…Kindly One."

"Kindly One?' I asked him. "A Kindly One?" He didn't answer, obviously. Then he started drooling. Gross!

Chiron came back. "Grover is fine." He glanced at Percy. "I'll get some ambrosia and nectar. Please don't ask Percy anything. I don't want to…trouble him." He trotted out again.

When Chiron came back again, he had the ambrosia and nectar. "I suppose you won't be able to get back to sleep now…" He trailed off.

"I'll stay here, Chiron. It's fine." I replied. Even though Chiron said not to, I wanted to ask him about what was going on.

Chiron eyed me. "Very well then." he sighed. "I'll leave you here. Give him some ambrosia and nectar." He left.

I gave him some ambrosia carefully. I cared for him the next few days. He woke up a couple times. Once, when I saw his eyes open, I asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"

"What?" He managed to say.

I looked around. What if Chiron came back in? "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I don't-" He was cut off by a knock on the door. I quickly gave him another spoonful of ambrosia and he fell back asleep. It was Chiron.

"Has he woken up yet?" He asked nervously, his tail flicking.

"No," I replied, "but it seems like he's getting better."

"Is he?" He came over and laid a hand on Percy's forehead."Yes, he does seem to be getting better. I think it would be fine if you returned to your classes."

"Yes, Chiron." I shuffled out of the room and headed back to my cabin.

The next day, Chiron asked if I would like to come play pinochle with him and Mr. D. I wasn't fond of their pinochle games, but I came along anyway. When we got to the Big House, I leaned on the railing and read my book, which was about ancient Greek architecture. See, I want to be an architect when I grow up. Since I'm the daughter of Athena, I'm interested in that sort of stuff.

Before long, Percy came out with Grover. Grover started whispering to Percy (quite loud whispering in fact). "That's Mr. D. He's the camp director. Be polite." I couldn't agree more. You did not want to have Mr. D on your bad side. "That girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer that just about anybody." I wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or an insult. "And you already know Chiron…" He pointed to Chiron, who was in his motorized wheelchair.

"Mr. Brunner!" He exclaimed. Mr. Brunner? Perhaps what he was called at the school…

They started talking. "Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle." I doubted Percy knew how to play pinochle, but I kept silent.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you," said a bored Mr. D.

"Uh, thanks," replied Percy, and scooted a little farther away. I couldn't blame him. Mr. D didn't seem too…uh…sane.

"Annabeth?" Chiron called to me. I came forward.

Chiron introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

"Sure Chiron," I said. I looked at Percy, then at the Minotaur horn in his hands, then back at him. He smiled like I was supposed too be amazed, or something. Can't have his ego getting any bigger than it already is. _You have to say something,_ I thought. "You drool when you sleep." I told him. Then I left.

I am so stupid.


	3. Chapter 3

When I got to cabin eleven, I told the Stolls that there was a new demigod coming, and he needed a bunk, etc. Then I leaned against the cabin and started reading again.

When Percy and Chiron got to cabin eleven, I studied him. He looked at my book with a confused expression on his face. I knew why. It was in Greek, but I didn't tell him that.

"Annabeth," Chiron said, " I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told Percy, "Make yourself at home." The campers in cabin eleven stood and bowed. "Well then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner." He galloped away towards the archery range.

Percy stood in the doorway. "Well?" I asked. "Go on."

He tripped on the way in the doorway. No one talked. "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" asked Connor Stoll.

Percy looked confused, but I told them, "Undetermined."

Everyone groaned.

Luke came forward. He was tall, and he had a nice smile and sandy hair. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor right over there." He pointed. Luke is nice to every new camper who comes. It's just how he is.

"This is Luke," I told Percy, blushing. Percy looked at me funny and I could have sworn he noticed. I had had a crush on Luke for a while. I forced myself to stop blushing. "He's your counselor for now."

"For now?" He asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

"How long will I be here?" Percy asked.

"Good question," Luke replied. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?" He asked. I cringed as the campers all laughed.

"Come on," I said. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"I've already seen it," he told me. Seriously? How slow could you get?

"Come on." I grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside.

"Jackson, you have to do better than that," I told him.

"What?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. Seriously, this kid was stupid. " I can't believe I thought you were the one," I muttered under my breath.

"What's your problem?" He asks, looking angry. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy-"

"Don't talk like that," I snapped. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?" I know I did.

"To get killed?" He asked.

"To fight the Minotaur!" I corrected. "What do you think we train for?"

He shook his head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was_ the_ Minotaur, the same one in the stories…"

"Yes," I told him. I know where this conversation was going.

"Then there's only one."

"Yes." Yes there is only one, but…

"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So…"

And we're here. "Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."

"Oh thanks. That clears it up," he said sarcastically.

"They don't have souls, like you and me," I explained patiently. "You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually they reform."

He thought. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword-"

"The Fur…" I caught myself. "I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad.

"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"

"You talk in your sleep," I explained.

"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"

I glanced nervously at the ground. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."

"Look, is there anything we _can _say without it thundering?" He complained. He sort of had a point, but we all knew better than to question the gods. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there." He pointed to the Zeus and Poseidon cabins.

_He might end up staying in one of those cabins,_ I thought worriedly. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy," I explained. "It depends on who your parents are. Or…your parent." I stared at him, waiting for him to get it.

"My mom is Sally Jackson," he said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."

"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy." Chiron had told me the Minotaur had killed Percy's mom. At least, that's what he'd picked up from Grover. "But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."

"He's dead. I never knew him."

I sighed. I had heard that millions of times before. "Your father's not dead, Percy."

"How can you say that? You know him?"

"No. Of course not." Actually, I'd probably seen him at the winter solstice. But I didn't _know _him.

"Then how can you say-"

"Because I know _you."_ I said. Technically, I didn't know _who_ he was specifically, but I knew _what_ he was. "You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't know anything about me."

"No?" I raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them." I wasn't, but most people here were.

"How-" he said. Number one true.

"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too." Yup, that's me.

He looked embarrassed. Number two, also true. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD-you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. You senses are better that a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."

"You sound like…you went through the same thing?" Maybe he wasn't as stupid as he acted.

"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you wouldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar," he repeated.

"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. If would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood," I told him.

He looked totally bewildered. Then someone yelled behind me, "Well! A newbie!" I turned around and Clarisse was behind us. Daughter of Ares. My least favorite camper.

"Clarisse," I sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, Miss Princess," said Clarisse. Miss Princess? I was far from a "Miss Princess." "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

"Erre es korakas!" I told her. Go to the crows, in Greek. It's a worse curse than it sounds. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. She turned towards Percy. "Who's this little runt?"

"Percy Jackson," I said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."

He blinked. "Like…the war god?"

No, the god of rainbows. Of course the war god!

Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"

No," Percy said. "It explains the bad smell." _Watch out! _I thought. You do _not _want to make enemies with Clarisse.

"We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy," Clarisse growled.

Oh great. Not the initiation ceremony. I've seen this before…

"Percy," he corrected.

"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse-" I started to say.

"Stay out of it wise girl,"

I stayed out of it.

This is going to be bad.

Percy gave me his Minotaur horn, and Clarisse started dragging him towards the bathrooms. I followed. The Ares cabin was snickering.

"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as I watched nervously from the corner. "Yeah right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking." That was funny for two reasons: The Minotaur _and _Clarisse are a lot stupider than Percy, no matter how slow he was.

They started pushing Percy down towards the toilet seat. He didn't look happy.

Then the pipes started to rumble and water shot out from the toilet in a perfect arc, going right over Percy and dousing everything else in the bathroom. It washed Clarisse and her friends out, but not me. When the water turned off I was still standing in the same spot, dripping wet, and staring at Percy in shock. He was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. He stood up shakily.

"How did you…" I asked.

"I don't know," He replied.

We walked out the door. Clarisse and her friends were lying in the mud. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead," she snarled.

"You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth," said Percy. Now the whole Ares cabin was going to hate him, which was _not_ a good thing.

That was when a plan started to form in my head. I stared at Percy, thinking.

"What?" he demanded. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," I said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."


	4. Chapter 4

That toilet incident got me wondering. Who was Percy's father? If he was a child of a big three, his dad had to be Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades. Zeus was the most likely choice. I mean, he'd already broken the oath, and Percy had the same black hair… It had to be Zeus.

The news spread really quickly. Everyone was muttering about it under their breath. It was probably mostly because I was still soaking wet, but news spread like a wildfire at camp. I showed Percy the metal shop, the arts-and-crafts room, and the climbing wall. Then we went back to the canoe lake.

"I've got training to do. Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."

"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets," he said.

"Whatever."

"It wasn't my fault."

It wasn't his fault? He had just made the toilets explode!

"You need to talk to the Oracle," I said. After seeing that, I was fairly certain that he was going to get me my quest, no matter who his father was. I was also thinking he might be the subject of the prophecy…

"Who?" he asked.

I flinched. "Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."

He stared into the lake and didn't say anything. Then he saw some naiads waving at him from the bottom of the lake. Like an idiot, he waved back. I almost laughed.

"Don't encourage them," I said. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

"Naiads," he repeated. "That's it. I want to go home now."

I frowned. This was my home. This was going to be his home. "Don't you get it Percy? You _are_ home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"

Seriously? I thought Chiron showed him the orientation film. And with all this talk about monsters and myths, I thought he would have figured it out by now. "I mean _not human_. Not totally human anyway. Half-human."

"Half human and half what?" Seriously?

"I think you know." Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he _didn't _know.

"God," he said. "Half-god." Well! What a surprise, he _did_ know!

I nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians.

"That's…crazy."

"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"

"But those are just-" He was going to say myths. Probably thought better of it. "But if all the kids here are half-gods-"

"Demigods," I corrected him. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Then who's your dad?" I clenched my fists. He had to ask about my dad?

"My dad is a professor at West Point," I said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American History."

"He's human," Percy told me incredulously. Um, yeah. I think I would know that my father was human. And, hey, he wanted to know.

"What?" I asked. "You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"

"Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin six."

"Meaning?"

"Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle." I was actually quite proud that my mom was Athena.

"And my dad?" he asked.

"Undetermined." I told him. "Like I told you before. Nobody knows."

"Except my mother. She knew."

I doubted it. "Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."

"My dad would have. He loved her."

He seemed so sure, but I didn't want to burst his bubble. I eyed him carefully. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."

"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"

Yes. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids they don't always…Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy." I remembered Luke and his father. "They ignore us."

"So I'm stuck here?" he asked sullenly. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"

"It depends. Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble- about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, of I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."

" So monsters can't get in here?"

I shook my head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."

"Why would anyone want to summon a monster?"

"Practice fights. Practical jokes."

"Practical jokes?"

I ignored that. Actually, yes, the Stolls sometimes summoned monsters for practical jokes. "The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."

"So…you're a year rounder?"

I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace with my clay beads and my dad's college ring. "I've been here since I was seven. Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer that most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

"Why did you come so young?"

He had to ask. "None of your business," I replied coolly.

"Oh," he says. "So…I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?" I could tell he wanted to.

"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer solstice unless…"

"Unless?" he prompted.

"You were granted a quest." I replied uncomfortably. "But that hardly ever happens. The last time…" The last time was when Luke went on his quest. After that disaster, I knew I wasn't going to get a quest. Until now…

"Back in the sick room, when you were feeding me that stuff-" he said.

"Ambrosia."

"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."

"So you _do_ know something?" I asked him.

"Well…no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline."

I clenched my fists. "I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong on Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so _normal._"

"You've been to Olympus?" he asked, amazed.

I didn't make it a big deal. "Some of us year-rounders- Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others- we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."

"But…how do you get there?"

Oh. He thought I meant the _real_ Mount Olympus. In Greece. I kept my cool. "The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." Did Chiron show him the orientation film or not? "You are a New Yorker, right?"

"Oh, sure." Then how could he not know this? Maybe Chiron _didn't _show him the orientation film.

I kept talking. "Right after we visited, the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping…" I had to phrase this right. "I mean- Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon." Gods, I hope it's not Poseidon. "But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could word together. I thought you might know something."

He shook his head, and I felt my face fall.

"I've got to get a quest," I muttered to myself. "I'm _not_ too young. If they would just tell me the problem…" Percy's stomach growled, and I told him to go on, and I'd catch him later. I started forming a plan for capture the flag.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days were uneventful. I taught Percy Ancient Greek in the mornings, but other that that, I didn't see him much. He was okay at Greek mythology; at least, he wasn't as hopeless as I'd thought. He was fine at reading Ancient Greek, for a beginner demigod. He didn't get claimed, which really annoyed me. Once he gets claimed, I might get my quest. But if he never gets claimed…I didn't want to think about it.

Capture the flag was Friday night. By then, I had had my plan all figured out. If it worked –which it was almost sure to– we would win the game. While Chiron explained the rules, I went over the plan again in my head. Mom would be proud. This was sure to work!

"Arm yourselves!" Chiron called, and I organized my team as they swarmed the weapons. Athena and Ares were leading. Since I was counselor for Athena, I would be leading my team into battle. I had managed to make a temporary alliance with Apollo and Hermes, which was good, since those were the two biggest cabins. Ares had aligned with the rest. The Dionysus, Demeter, and Aphrodite cabins didn't bother me too much, but I was vaguely worried about the Hephaestus cabin, even though there was only four of them. And of course, the Ares cabin, though if my plan worked, they would be no problem.

"Blue team, forward!" I yelled, and started marching down the path to the south woods.

Percy ran up to me with huge armor that barely fit him and a giant sword. I saw this out of the corner of my eye, but didn't look directly at him. Hey." he panted.

I didn't answer. "So what's the plan?" he asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

My hand drifted to my pocket. He could be a child of Hermes, no matter how much I hoped his dad would be Zeus. Had he stolen…?

I relaxed when I realized I still had my invisibility cap, a 12th birthday present from Athena. "Just watch Clarisse's spear," I said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means."

So far, so good. "It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." A totally awesome plan!

I pushed ahead, and mumbled something I didn't hear.

I led my team to their positions and showed Percy where to go. By the creek, a perfect, out of the way place far away from our flag. The conch horn blew and I raced ahead to where Luke was and told him he could get the flag and I would take care of defense.

"You sure?" he asked. "I thought you wanted to be on offense."

"No, I'm good. Just get the flag." I said, and put on my cap. Luke shrugged and ran ahead towards the direction of their flag.

I dashed toward the creek where Percy was. If my plan worked, he might be in trouble. "The flag is that way," Percy was saying, and pointed. He told them where the flag was. Seriously?

"Yeah," said one of the Ares kids, I'm not sure which. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about the guy who made our cabin look stupid." Well so far my plan was working. If they kept that up, we were sure to win.

"You do that without my help," he managed. Did he want them to kill him? Stop talking!

The kids came at him. I was about to step in and help him, but something held me back. I don't know why.

One of the kids slashed a good-size cut in his arm, and he told them, "No maiming."

"Oops," the guy said sarcastically. "Guess I lost my desert privilege." They should really make a worse punishment for that. I should really tell Chiron. The kid pushed Percy into the creek, and Clarisse and her friends started laughing.

Two of them came at Percy, and I figured he was dead meat, but suddenly he slammed one in the face with his shield and cut off the other's horsehair plume. Both of them retreated. Only Clarisse kept advancing. She thrusted her electric spear at Percy, but he caught the shaft between the edge of his shield and sword and snapped the blade clean off!

"Ah!" she yelled at him. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!" I tried to hold back my laughter for the fear of revealing my position. Corpse breath worm? Percy slammed her between the eyes with his sword and she fell back.

Then, Luke bounded over the creek with the flag. I smiled triumphantly. "A trick!" Clarisse shouted. "It was a trick!" _Too late,_ I thought to myself. Our team burst into cheers and the flag changed from bloody red with a boar and spear- the symbol of cabin five- to silver with a caduceus-the symbol of cabin eleven. We had won.

I walked over to Percy. "Not bad, hero," I said. He looked confused and I realized I still had my cap on. I took it off. "Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?"

He started scowling. "You set me up," he said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

I wanted to deny it, but it was true. I shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in but…" I wasn't about to tell him that for some reason, I had a feeling that I just shouldn't help him. "You didn't need help," I finished.

Then I remembered his arm. I glanced at it, but the wound was already fading. "How did you do that?" I asked him, amazed.

"Sword cut. What do you think?"

"No. It was a sword cut," I corrected. "Look at it."

He glanced at his arm and seemed more surprised than I was. "I-I don't get it," he stammered.

I thought hard. What if his dad was…? "Step out of the water, Percy," I ordered.

"What-"

"Just do it," I said impatiently.

He stepped out of the creek. He almost fell over, but I caught him before he hit the ground. Oh, gods. This is not good. His dad-

"Oh, Styx. This is _not_ good. I didn't want…I assumed it would be Zeus…" I murmured.

Before he could say anything, I heard something. A howl that I had heard before. A hellhound. "_Stand ready! My bow!"_ Chiron called in Ancient Greek, which I understood perfectly, of course.

I drew my dagger and prepared to fight any monster that came forward. The hellhound came out and stared straight at Percy. Fear ran through me, but I yelled, "Percy, run!" I tried to step in between them, but the hellhound leaped over me and attacked him. He stumbled back and it's claws ripped through his armor. _Chiron, _I prayed. _Save him!_

Suddenly Chiron's arrows flew through the air and killed the hellhound. I sighed in relief. Chiron walked up to us with a grim expression on his face. Then what happened finally settled in.

_"Di immortales!"_ I exclaimed. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment! They don't…they're not supposed to…"

"Someone summoned it. Someone inside the camp," said Chiron.

Luke came over with the flag still in his hand but he didn't seem to care anymore.

"It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!" Clarisse yelled. Anger flared up inside of me. _Percy's_ fault? It had attacked him, for Zeus's sake!

"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her, and we watched the dead hellhound sink into the ground.

"Then I remembered Percy's cuts. "Your wounded," I said. "Quick, Percy, get in the water." If my suspicions were correct…

"I'm okay," he tried to protest.

"No, you're not," I insisted. "Chiron, watch this."

He stepped back in the creek, and the cuts on his chest started closing up. Then something else caught my attention, something above Percy's head. A three tipped spear glowing green in the evening light. A trident, the symbol of…the symbol of…

"Look, I-I don't know why," he said, obviously not noticing the sign above his head.

"Percy. Um…" I said, pointing above his head. "Your father. This is _really_ not good." I felt my stomach sinking. If his dad was…if that was his dad, that means he's the child of the prophecy. And my quest.

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

"My father?" asked Percy, still confused.

"Poseidon," Chiron said, confirming my worst fears. 'Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."


	6. Chapter 6

A son of Poseidon? Styx, this is not good. I can't work with him! I can't! My mom and Poseidon have been enemies -friendly enemies, of course, but still enemies- for millennia! How could I work with him on a quest? Well, if I was going to, I had to make a plan. A plan that was sure to work. I tried to think, even during Percy's Ancient Greek lessons, but nothing came to me. One time, I think he caught me muttering something like, "Quest…Poseidon?...Dirty rotten…Got to make a plan…"

The next day, Chiron called me down to the big house, but said to wear my invisibility cap. I went down to the big house invisibly, almost bumping into several people because I wasn't paying attention. First I bumped into Clarisse, who glanced around suspiciously. Then I bumped into Silena Beauregard from Aphrodite, but she didn't notice. Once I got down to the Big House safely, no one was there except Chiron, Mr. D, and Grover.

"Where's Percy?" I asked, taking off my invisibility cap.

"Visiting the Oracle," Chiron said nervously. "I don't want him to see you when he comes down."

"But what was stolen?"

"I guess I have to tell you now," Chiron sighed. "What was stolen….was Zeus's master bolt."

"The master bolt!" I gasped. "That explains the hurricanes. He blames Poseidon?"

"Yes. And after that hellhound attack…I fear Hades might be after him, too. So I'm sending him on his quest now."

I nodded and put my cap back on. Before long, Percy came back down. "Well?" Chiron said.

Percy sat down on a chair. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Yes! He got the prophecy! I'm going on a quest!

"That's great!" Grover exclaimed, leaning forward and chewing on a tin can.

"What did the Oracle say _exactly_?" Chiron asked Percy. "This is important." Chiron was right. We need to know exactly what the Oracle said, otherwise we could make a big mistake.

Percy looked reluctant, but he said," She…she said I would go west and face the god who had turned. I would receive what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover said.

It didn't seem like a full prophecy, and apparently Chiron thought so, too. "Anything else?"

"No," he said. "That's about it."

I narrowed my eyes. That didn't seem like the whole thing. There must be more, I decided. He just didn't want to tell us.

Chiron still looked unsure. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass." _Like the great prophecy_, I thought.

"Okay," said Percy, looking like he didn't want to talk about this anymore. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"

"Ah, think, Percy. If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

"Someone else who wants to take over?" he asked.

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."

"Hades," he answered.

Chiron nodded. "The lord of the dead is the only possibility."

Now Grover looked nervous. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"

"A fury came after Percy," Chiron explained. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes but-but Hades hates _all _heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon."

"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron said. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."

"Great," Percy muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me." I couldn't agree more. I've seen what can happen when gods are angry.

"But a quest to…" Grover looked more nervous now, if that was possible. 'I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year." I stifled a laugh. Maine?

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

Chiron made it sound so simple, but it was almost an impossible quest. I couldn't wait to get started.

We were silent for a while. Then Percy spoke up. "Look, if we know it's Hades, why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."

He had a point, but the gods would, and could never do that. "Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the gods suspect Hades -and I imagine Poseidon does- they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross into each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying I'm being used." Again I realized that he was smarter than he seemed.

"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."

Suddenly Percy looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"

"I had my suspicions. As I said…I've spoken to the Oracle, too." I knew Chiron was talking about the great Prophecy. Percy is the one in the great Prophecy. But that means…

"So let me get this straight. I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead," said Percy.

"Check," answered Chiron.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

Again, Chiron made it sound so simple.

I glanced at Grover, who was eating playing cards. "Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" I tried not to laugh again. Typical Grover.

"You don't have to go," said Percy. "I can't ask that of you." For the first time of many, it struck me how nice Percy was to everyone he cared about.

"Oh…" said Grover. "No…it's just that satyrs and underground places…well…" I knew what Grover was like in underground places. But for a searcher's license…well, he would do just about anything.

Grover took a deep breath. "You saved my life, Percy. If…if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

"All the way, G-man," said Percy, and he turned to look at Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America," said Chiron.

"Where?"

Chiron looked surprised at his question. Did he even tell him where it was? "I thought that would be obvious enough." He didn't tell him? Then how would he expect him to know? Then again, I guess I did expect him to know where Olympus was… "The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh," he said. "Naturally." He's being sarcastic. Well, it's maybe a way to lighten the mood for demigods, but not gods. "So we just get on a plane-" A plane? Are you crazy? Zeus would blast you out of the sky!

"No!" shrieked Grover. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?" Percy shook his head.

"Percy, think," said Chiron. "You are a son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive." Way to boost our spirits, Chiron. I heard lightning and thunder outside.

"Okay," said Percy. "So I'll travel over land."

"That's right," said Chiron. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help." My heart soared. I was actually going on a quest!

"Gee," Percy said. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?" I took that as my signal to take off my hat.

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," I said. Yeah, I know it was a stupid insult, but better than whatever he could come up with for me. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself. I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?" he retorted.

My face felt hot. He probably didn't realize, but that was what Clarisse had called me before she stuck his head in the toilet. "Do you want my help or not?" I asked him.

He looked like he didn't want it, but he'd sure need it. " A trio," he said. "That'll work."

"Excellent," said Chiron, who I'd almost forgotten was there. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own." Rain started pouring down, the worst storm I'd ever seen, and the only storm I'd ever seen inside camp. "No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

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**So, I have been posting once or twice a day? I might be posting once maybe every other day now, because I wrote all this before hand and now I have caught up to myself! So just expect a longer wait in between chapters. Thanks for your patience!**

**-Cataniagirl**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys. Sorry it took so long for me to update, I was really busy. And sorry this is such a short chapter. I will update tomorrow!**

**-Cataniagirl**

* * *

It didn't take long for me to pack, because I was so excited. Not that I wanted to be attacked by monsters every few feet. I just wanted to see the real world. I mean, I haven't left camp, really, in five years. That's why this quest was so important to me.

It didn't take long for Percy to pack, either, though I think that's just because he didn't have much to pack. The camp loaned us some stuff to help us, but not much. I brought my magic Yankees cap, of course, my architecture book, in case I got bored (though I doubted that would happen.), and my celestial bronze dagger, which was very special to me. Luke had given it to me when we met in the streets. Grover was bringing lots of tin cans and apples to eat. I don't know how metal tastes good, but satyrs have strange eating habits. They do like enchiladas, though. Also, he brought his reed pipes. I think we might have been better off without them.

Chiron rolled up to us in his wheelchair. He explained to Percy about Argus, who is a little creepy with all his eyes. Then someone walked up behind us. It was Luke.

"Hey," he panted. "Glad I caught you." I tried not to blush, but it didn't work so well. "Just wanted to say good luck," he told Percy. "And I thought…um, maybe you could use these." He handed him the magic sneakers his dad gave him before he went on his quest. That was so nice of Luke, to give Percy a gift. Then again, he never really liked those shoes. "_Maia_!" he shouted, and the shoes sprouted wings and started flying. It surprised Percy, who was holding them, and he dropped them.

"Awesome!" said Grover.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days…" I knew what he was thinking. He had always wanted to go on a quest, just like me. But when he did get one…well, after that Chiron wasn't going to let him go anywhere, much less me. I think Luke sort of felt bad about that, because he knew how bad I wanted to see the world outside of camp.

"Hey, man," said Percy. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy…" Luke said. " A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just…kill some monsters for me, okay?" I wasn't sure what he was talking about. I guess he was just saying that if this quest went well, then more kids would get to go on quests…?

Luke and Percy shook hands, patted Grover's head (which I thought was a little odd), and hugged me, which made me blush so hard I felt like I was going to pass out.

Luke left. "You're hyperventilating," said Percy. I guess it sort of surprised me, because I retorted with the most stupid thing ever. "Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

How did he know? "Oh…why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"

I knew why. It was just because of this quest. But I stormed off to where Argus was waiting with our ride to the city.


	8. Chapter 8

I waited on the far side of the hill for a while. I don't know why Chiron was taking so long with Percy. Then they appeared on the side of the hill. Percy ran down towards the car and Chiron held his bow high in salute. We were off on our quest.

When the side of the road started turning from strawberry fields and countryside to asphalt and shopping malls, Percy turned to me and said. "So far, so good. Ten miles and not a single monster."

Didn't he know anything about Nemesis? If you say something like that, you're sure to stumble across a monster in the next ten seconds. Not that I'm superstitious or anything, but Nemesis will give you bad luck if you're not having any. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."

"Remind me again- why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you," I said. I didn't really. It's just I was disappointed he was a son of Poseidon. Of all of the gods, it had to be Poseidon. How were we supposed to survive this quest if we couldn't work together?

"Could've fooled me."

I messed around with my stuff. "Look…we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?"

I sighed. Did he know anything about Greek mythology? "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athens's temple, which is _hugely_ disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens, Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives," said Percy. He always focuses on the wrong point. How did he get _that_ out of what I just told him?

"Oh, forget it," I said.

"Now, if she'd invented pizza- _that_ I could understand."

"I said, forget it!"

We were silent again, with nothing to talk about.

It was raining by the time we got to the Greyhound Station. I saw a poster with Percy's picture on it, which he ripped down quickly. I don't think Grover noticed, but I did.

Argus helped us unload our bags and we walked down to the station in the rain. Percy and Grover were having a quiet conversation but I didn't join in. I pushed ahead until we got there.

While we waited for the bus played some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's spare apples. Percy was okay, but Grover wasn't that good. I guess it's because he doesn't have ADHD. I wasn't too bad, but it was mostly because of training at camp, plus my ADHD. Where it doesn't affect me too much in the classroom, it definitely does on the battlefield. And I think sports are a lot like a battle.

Anyway, we kept playing until we lost the apple- to Grover's mouth. Percy had tossed the apple too close to Grover's face, and our Hacky Sack disappeared. Grover had eaten the whole thing. He tried to apologize, and Percy and I started laughing. Just laughing, and it struck me how long it had been since I did something like this. It must have been…it must have been five years ago, when Thalia was still alive, and Luke hadn't gone on his quest yet. I had real friends again.

The bus came, and Grover tensed and started sniffing the air. Monsters.

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"I don't know. Maybe it's nothing," he said, but he didn't sound so sure.

We got on the bus and went straight to the back. Then I noticed the last passengers that got on.

Three old ladies boarded the bus; all wearing disgusting old-lady clothes that made me want to puke. Definitely a Fury. I clamped my hand onto Percy's leg, and hissed his name, "Percy."

He followed my gaze and scrunched down low in his seat, as if they wouldn't notice him. The bus pulled out of the station and Percy said, "She didn't stay dead long." His voice was quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're _lucky._ Obviously you're not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. _"Di immortales!"_

"It's okay," I said, though I could barely concentrate on my words because my brain was working too hard. How are we ever going to get out of this? I was panicking. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moaned.

Don't open? What kind of bus has windows that don't open? "A back exit?" I glanced to the back of the bus. No emergency exit.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around. Will they?" said Percy nervously.

"Mortals don't have good eyes. Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist," I said.

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

I thought about it. I hadn't had much experience with the Mist in a while. There's no telling what they'll see. It's possible they'll see us killing three old ladies. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit on the roof…?"

Suddenly everything went dark. I was afraid something bad had happened, but we had just entered the Lincoln Tunnel.

One of the Furies got up. Alecto, I think. In the eerie quiet, her voice was loud and dry. "I need to use the restroom," she said. She just announced that to the whole bus. She just told the whole bus she had to pee?

"So do I," said the second sister.

"So do I," said the third.

They walked slowly down the aisle. My mind was whirring faster now. "I've got it," I said. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys-" he tried to protest.

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us. You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you."

"Don't worry about us. Go!" said Grover.

He put my cap on nervously and disappeared.

Alecto, the first sister, suddenly stopped and looked straight at an empty seat. My heart pounded. Had she found Percy? But just as suddenly, she unfroze and kept walking down the aisle.

Once they got to the back, they turned around and turned fully into old hags. They had whips in their hands and claws on their feet and hands. They surrounded Grover and me, shouting, "Where is it? Where?"

The mortals started screaming. I wasn't sure what they saw, but I was guessing they weren't seeing us having a tea party with some old ladies.

"He's not here!" I yelled, though for some strange reason, I got the feeling they weren't talking about Percy. "He's gone!"

The Furies raised their whips. I took this as a sign to draw my dagger, and Grover took out a tin can. I didn't think that this would help much, but I was grateful for the help.

Suddenly, the bus jerked to the left, and I was thrown against the windows, and so were the Furies. It was pretty funny to watch actually, but they weren't going to die that easily. I heard the bus driver yell something unintelligible. I was guessing that meant Percy had a hold of the wheel.

I wasn't paying attention because I was still dazed from my collision with the windows. I wasn't paying much attention to what was happening with the bus, just relying on the fact that Percy was in control. The bus jerked to a stop, but the Furies kept advancing. "_Apithi!_" I yelled, waving my dagger. Grover kept throwing tin cans, but the Furies probably just thought he was stupid.

Then Percy did something more stupid then I would have thought. "Hey!" he yelled, and took of the invisibility cap. The Furies turned away from us and started towards Percy. Two hopped up on the seats and one was in the middle of the aisle, looking like gigantic gargoyles. "Perseus Jackson," said the middle one. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I liked you better as a math teacher." A math teacher? The middle one growled.

I glanced at Grover, who nodded. We moved in, looking for an opening to attack, and Percy pulled out a ballpoint pen, that, when he uncapped it, turned into a shimmering celestial bronze, double-edged sword. I was surprised. Where had he gotten that? But we didn't have any time. The Furies flinched. "Submit now," the middle one hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."

"Nice try," he told her.

I saw what was coming before he did. "Percy, look out!"

The middle one lashed her whip around his sword hand and the other two lunged. Percy managed to stay on two feet and distract two of them while I got the middle one in a wrestler's hold. Grover tried to snatch her whip but he grabbed the wrong end and it burned him.

"Ow! Ow! Hot! Hot!" he yelled.

The Fury I was holding was struggling, but I held on. Grover tried to tie up her legs with her whip. Finally we got her down. She tried to get up, but couldn't because she didn't have enough room to flap her wings.

"Zeus will destroy you. Hades will have your soul," she said to Percy.

_"Braccas meas vescimini!"_ shouted Percy. It took me a minute to decipher because it was Latin, and Latin didn't come as easily to me as Ancient Greek. "Eat my pants," I finally figured out.

A roll of thunder made the bus tremble, bringing me back to reality.

"Get out!" I yelled at Percy. "Now!"

He didn't hesitate. He ran outside and Grover and I followed.

Some crazy mortals were running around in circles yelling, some were arguing with the driver, and some were just wandering around. One of them managed to take a picture of Percy with his sword in motion, which I didn't think was going to make him look too good.

"Our bags!" Grover yelped. "We left our-"

BOOOM!

But we were too late. The bus exploded behind us, but I heard the Furies yelling inside, which meant we had to get out of here.

"Run!" I said to Percy and Grover. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"

I pulled them into the woods. It started raining and the darkness enveloped us as we ran from the monsters.

* * *

**Okay everyone! I'll post again by Friday, I hope. Please read & review!**

**-Cataniagirl**


	9. Chapter 9

I had to pull them along. The woods were dark, and it was still raining. Grover still looked scared, and Percy just looked shocked. I guess he hadn't seen too many monsters yet.

Grover kept whimpering, "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

Percy tried to protest that we go any farther, but I knew the farther away, the better. "All our money was back there," he reminded me. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

That's when I got mad. "Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-"

"What did you want me to do?" he cut me off. "Let you get killed?"

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine." And what did he care if I got killed? He didn't even care how this stupid quest went.

"Sliced like sandwich bread, but fine," said Grover. I wanted to yell at him. Whose side was he on?

"Shut up, goat boy," was the best I could come up with.

"Tin cans…a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

We were quiet for a few minutes, just walking through the disgusting slush. I thought about what Percy had done for me. Would I have done what he did? I wanted to say yes, but I wasn't so sure.

I caught up with Percy, who'd strayed ahead. "Look, I…" my voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?" he asked halfheartedly.

I was quiet, not knowing how to respond. "It's just that if you died…aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world." I wasn't sure how I felt. I hadn't had good friends for a while. Luke had grown steadily more distant since he had gotten back from his quest, and Grover was busy. He had been gone all year with Percy, and he seemed to think Percy was a really good friend. I guess he was, but I hadn't gotten to know him enough yet. I suddenly noticed the light had faded and I couldn't see anything except Percy's face.

"You haven't left Camp-Half Blood since you were seven?" he asked.

"No…only short field trips. My dad-"

"The history professor," he interrupted. I would have retorted, but I was too tired.

"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood _is_ my home." I was rushing, as if he was going to interrupt again. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not," I said, but I wasn't sure about this.

"You're pretty good with that knife," he said, obviously trying to make me feel better. It worked.

"You think so?" I asked, still doubtful.

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."

I smiled. Grover was right. Percy _is_ a good friend. Then I remembered something I noticed on the bus, with the Furies. "You know, maybe I should tell you…Something funny back on the bus…"

Something horrible sounding interrupted me. Grover's reed pipes.

"Hey, my reed pipes still work! If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!" cried Grover. I agreed. If he could _actually play a find path song on his reed pipes,_ we could get out of these woods!

He played a couple notes, but I didn't think they were a find path song, because I heard Percy's head thwack into a tree.

We didn't say much for a while, except for the occasional curse in Ancient Greek whenever we tripped. After about a mile, I saw a neon light up ahead. Food! We kept walking until we saw a road and a gas station that looked deserted, but past that was the neon light and the smell…the smell of fast food, which I hadn't had since I was about six. The neon sign read…something like UATNY SME AGDRNE MOEGN MUERPIO. Stupid dyslexia.

"What the heck does that say?" said Percy.

"I don't know," I replied.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," said Grover. Oh. That makes more sense. But garden gnomes?

As I looked around, I saw more then just gnomes. There was a grizzly bear and lots of people. In fact, I didn't see one gnome, unless a satyr counted…wait, a satyr?

Percy started walking towards the shop. "Hey…" Grover warned.

"The lights are on inside," I said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," said Percy wistfully. We were hungry. I couldn't blame him.

"Snack bar," I repeated.

"Are you two crazy?" said Grover. "This place is weird."

Something in the back of my mind registered what he was saying, and agreed, but I ignored him.

I was too excited to take in my surroundings, but I vaguely saw a bunch of cement statues, including the satyr I'd seen earlier.

"_Bla-ha-ha!_" bleated Grover. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

We stopped at the door.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," I told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.

Technically, those weren't meat, but I didn't feel the need to point that out.

"Those are vegetables," said Grover. Technically they weren't vegetables either, but I didn't tell him that either. "Come on. Let's leave. These statues are…looking at me."

Suddenly the door creaked open, and we whipped around.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter. I'll post again by...let's say Sunday. Okay? **

**-Cataniagirl**


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